Excellence in Family-School Partnerships

A feature of Mount Lawley SHS is the commitment to establish quality partnerships with parents and the wider community. The recently completed building and re-development program highlights the success of these partnerships, in particular the quality links established between parents and the school.

Recently the school was acknowledged nationally as the winner of a Highly Commended Award in the Family-School Partnerships category of the 2007 Australian Government National Awards for Quality Schooling. Mount Lawley was one of SIX schools across Australia to be acknowledged for excellence in this category and was awarded a $15,000 prize.

This award is an outstanding achievement for the school community and demonstrates the commitment of parents and staff to the development of Mount Lawley SHS. It is clear that ours is a school in which quality partnerships between family and school have provided significant benefits for students and this is evident in the range of partnerships acknowledged in the award. This includes the:
•strengthening of leadership provided through the P&C and School Council;
•commitment and input of parents in the five year re-building and re-development program;
•advice given to the school in the development of the Middle School and Senior School;
•support given to Music and Special Visual & Performing Arts by the parent support committees;
•work of the Health Committee to assist in the development of the Healthy Food Guideline and D Café;
•provision of the Health Expo for all students and the Big Chill to support Year 12 students in the final year of their studies;
•collaboration in the development of links with Edith Cowan University and TAFE;
•organisation and conduct of the Community Art Auction which over the past three years has raised $25 000;
•on-going support for the provision of the Chaplaincy Service; and
•development of the new School Uniform;

This is an impressive list of achievements and provides ample evidence to justify the award. What is special about the award is not the $15, 000 prize but the commitment of family and parents to get involved and support the school and its staff to provide the highest quality education to our young people.

Such awards are the results of the commitment of many parents over many years to develop these partnerships. My sincere thanks to each and every parent of our community past and present for assisting in the development of the partnerships that are recognised across Australia as system best. In particular, my thanks to P&C and School Council members Christine Richardson (Chair of School Council), David Hawkes (former P&C President), Suzie Barnes (current P&C President), Rob Walker, Celia Walker, Catherine Smith, Jeff Smith, and former parents of the school Peter Wilkins and Sue Charlick. Without their work this award would not be possible.

Mount Lawley is an exceptional school with exceptional family school partnerships. In recent correspondence Sharyn O’Neill, A/Director General of the Department of Education and Training, stated that our “school is a wonderful example of an innovative and progressive high achieving public school in Western Australia.”